News

A Golden Era for Pharma in 2020

More favourable conditions for the pharmaceutical industry, including a “golden era of renewed productivity and prosperity” have been forecast in a new report from analyst firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). According to the report, major scientific and technological advances, coupled with sociodemographic changes, increasing demand for medicines and trade liberalism, will help to transform the industry’s fortunes in 2020.

The report explains that there are three major challenges facing the industry at the moment: rising customer expectations, poor scientific productivity, and prevailing management culture, mental models and strategies that companies still rely on.

In addition, the report explains that there is a need to alter the concept of healthcare. Several industry trends have converged to increase the costs of healthcare and a proposed model is to focus on curing or preventing disease rather than treating it.

Several steps are described that pharmaceutical companies can take to ensure they make it through the challenges ahead and survive until 2020: